


i'm yours

by fairytalebarnes



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 22:42:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21216248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairytalebarnes/pseuds/fairytalebarnes
Summary: It had been 4 months since the final showdown with IT.  4 months since Eddie narrowly escaped death, surrounded by the people he loved most in the world. 4 months since he and Richie got out of Derry for good. Life was going better than he had ever expected it to. He was happy; he couldn’t remember the last time he was happy.





	i'm yours

\--

It had been 4 months since the final showdown with IT. 4 months since Eddie narrowly escaped death, surrounded by the people he loved most in the world. 4 months since he and Richie got out of Derry for good. Life was going better than he had ever expected it to. He was happy; he couldn’t remember the last time he was happy.

This time was different from the last though. Derry had stayed with him; the memories had stayed with him. He still wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. It definitely wasn’t a good thing when he woke up screaming at 3.am, sending him into a panic attack. The bad memories were very bad.

But then there were the good memories. Things that he never wanted to forget. His friends. The people that were always there to support and love him. The people that always knew what was best for him. The people that saved his life. And among these friends was Richie. Richie _fucking _Tozier. Simultaneously a constant pain in Eddie’s ass and the best thing that had ever happened to him. Their friendship was built on constant teasing and jokes, but the facts were that Eddie Kaspbrak loved Richie Tozier – he may have never admitted it to anyone, but he did.

Understandably, taking down a psychotic killer clown takes a toll on your mental health. The losers club made a promise to stay in contact as much as physically possible. As much as Eddie loved hearing about their lives, his was still a big mess that he needed to get sorted out as soon as possible. The main mess; Richie.

\--

\--

After being in the hospital for what felt like forever, Eddie was confronted with the biggest decision of his life. What comes next? All of the losers had left, making sure Eddie was safe and _alive_, but Richie had stayed by his side the entire time. He had ignored the thousands of phone calls from Myra and he had stuck with Eddie the entire time he was in his hospital bed. When Eddie was out of his mind on pain meds, Richie would tell funny stories from their childhood, making Eddie start giggling uncontrollably. He would sit with Eddie through the worst of his pain and remind him how strong and brave he was. He would tell Eddie how happy he was that Eddie was okay.

The first day was by far the hardest. When they made it to the hospital and the doctors had taken Eddie away, Richie was a sobbing mess. He had no concept of time, he had no idea how long they had been there or how long he’d been crying for, but every minute felt like an eternity. He kept his face in his hands, or stared at the floor, not wanting to look up at any of the losers. He knew exactly what would happen. They would smile and look at him in pity. They all knew. Maybe they had known since they were teenagers, Richie was never very good at hiding his emotions. He had loved Eddie since they were thirteen. He remembers going to the kissing bridge, the day after Eddie had broken his arm in the house on Neibolt. Mrs K had yelled at them all, saying she never wanted them to see her son again. She blamed them for anything bad that ever happened to Eddie. She drove him away and he stood on the street, watching Eddie get further and further away. It was that night that Richie realized he loved Eddie. He sat on his bed and he thought about Eddie’s screams. The way he had held Eddie in his arms and whispered in his ear that everything was going to be okay. He thought about what his life would be like if he never saw Eddie again. Never held him close. And he started crying. All he wanted was for Eddie to be safe. The next day, early enough in the morning that no one he knew would be awake, he rode his bike to the bridge. Kneeling down in front of an empty patch of wood, he pulled a small knife from his backpack, and with trembling hands, he started carving. First an R, then a +. He had a quick look around to make sure nobody could see him. Imagine running into Bowers as he was expressing his love for his best friend in the middle of town. No one was there. He took a deep breath before carving an E. He ran his thumb over his work, smiling softly before getting back on his bike and riding home. He didn’t mention it when he met up with the rest of the losers, Eddie included, later that day. He didn’t mention it when he watched Eddie walk away after they thought they had defeated IT. He didn’t mention it to anyone for 27 years. He remembered how he felt when he carved it. The overwhelming warm feeling that overcome him. All he wanted was to feel that way again.

Bev soon snapped him out of his thoughts when she approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her with red eyes and she grabbed his hand, pulling him gently. He stood up reluctantly, following Bev into the bathroom. When they were alone, he broke down again, crying as Bev held him close. This is why he loved Bev so much. As kids, they were always best friends, other than Eddie of course, and she always knew how to react to Richie. She just rubbed her hands across his back and let him cry. She wouldn’t say anything, no empty promises about everything being okay. She knew that everything was not okay. After a while of just standing there, she helped him clean up and gave him some clean clothes that she must have got out of his car. He didn’t even realize that the rest of the losers had already cleaned up and changed. He hadn’t really noticed anything.

When he left the bathroom to return to his seat in the waiting room, he saw Mike talking to a doctor. Eddie’s doctor. He picked up his pace, walking faster to reach them before the doctor left. Mike glanced in his direction and smiled softly as Richie approached him.

“He’s okay” Mike spoke. Richie felt the tears building in his eyes again. “They say one person can go in to see him”

“Rich” Bev was behind him now. “You ready?”

Richie nodded, stepping towards the doctor.

“Has he got any family we can contact?” the doctor asked, looking around the group.

“We’re his family” Bill said. The doctor nodded before leading Richie down the winding corridors to Eddie’s room.

Richie waited a second before opening the door, building up courage before gently pushing it and stepping inside the room. Eddie looked so small lying there, and it broke his heart to see him like that. He took a seat next to Eddie’s bed and reached over, holding his hand, rubbing his thumb over it soothingly. He wanted Eddie to wake up more than anything.

But after only a few minutes of waiting, he felt Eddie’s hand squeeze his own. He nearly fell off his chair out of shock. Eddie knew he was there. He was waking up.

Not long after that, Eddie shifted in his bed, moving from laying on his back to facing Richie. Richie smiled as Eddie refused to let go of his hand.

When Eddie’s eyes finally fluttered open, Richie was quick to respond.

“Eds, Eds, can you hear me?”

He looked over at Richie, smiling weakly.

“Hey asshole”

Richie felt his whole body relax at that. How everything can return to normal after everything that happened.

“Do you want me to get the others?”

“Just stay with me for a bit, yeah?”

“Okay Eds”

“Don’t fucking call me that”

They both burst out laughing, still holding hands. And in that moment, Richie knew that everything was going to be fine. 

The rest of the losers came in once Eddie was ready to see them. They stayed for a couple of days, before leaving one by one, apart from Bev and Ben who left together. They were going who knows where, too caught up in the romance to care about where they ended up. Richie was happy for them, but he couldn’t help being a little jealous. He wanted that kind of relationship. One where you can just forget about all of your worries and be with the one you love. He wanted that with Eddie.

Mike left next. He decided to live his teenage dream and go to Florida. He had no idea what he was going to do there, all he knew was that he was going.

Finally, it was Bill. He had spoken to his wife and told her he was going back. He wanted to mend their relationship and finally finish his movie with an ending he was happy with.

When Bill had said his goodbye’s, Richie awkwardly hovered by the door, not really knowing what to do.

“Rich?” Eddie muttered. “You don’t _need _to stay you know”

“I’m not going anywhere”

That night, Richie had a nightmare. He was back in the sewer, still unconscious after being caught in the deadlights. He had seen Eddie die. He was leaning over him, telling him he’d done it. He’d killed IT. It was all over. He saw him get impaled, he saw him get thrown on the floor, he saw the losers crowding around him, trying to find a way to escape. But this time, Eddie didn’t survive. He died down there in the dark and cold. He was scared and crying. Richie held his hand as he drifted but this time he didn’t wake up. Richie clutched onto his body as the others screamed for him to get up. The world was collapsing around them, they had to leave before it was too late. And Richie left. He left Eddie down there alone.

“Richie, Rich, wake up”

Richie’s eyes were wide as he was startled awake by Eddie’s voice.

“Hey, you’re okay. I’m here. You were just dreaming”

Richie’s breathing was heavy as he looked around the room. Eddie was here. He was alive.

“You were dead. Eddie. You were dead and I left you down there. I left you on your own, I-“

“It was a dream, Rich. It’s okay. And do you know how I know it was a dream?”

Richie’s eyes met Eddie’s as he shook his head.

“You would never leave me”

Richie let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, turning to Eddie and leaning in closer.

“I would never leave”

And Eddie nodded, smiling as he moved over on the bed, allowing Richie to slide in next to him. It was a tight fit, but they managed. It felt like they were teenagers again. The endless nights Richie would sneak into Eddie’s house in the middle of the night. They would get into bed, starting out by not touching at all. But Richie’s hand would find its way to Eddie’s arm. Then Eddie would pull it around his waist. Eventually, Eddie would sling his leg over Richie’s and by the end of the night they were a tangle of limbs, cuddled up close together. They couldn’t really do that now because of Eddie’s injuries, but it was all Richie could think about.

“Do you remember when we used to do this?” Eddie whispered into the darkness. “When we were teenagers”

“Yeah, I do” Richie whispered back.

And with that, Eddie grabbed a hold of Richie’s arm and pulled him closer. They fell asleep like that. Together again.

\--

\--

Eddie was doing well. He was being discharged and Richie was right there with him. Eddie sat on the hospital bed after changing into some clothes that Richie had retrieved for him. Richie was currently talking to one of the doctors, making sure everything was okay before Eddie left. He didn’t want to take any chances. He couldn’t see Eddie get hurt again.

“Come on spaghetti head. Time to go” Richie’s voice appeared from the doorway. He was leaning an arm against the wall staring at Eddie intently.

“Shut the fuck up and help me carry my things” Eddie shot back, trying to sound pissed off, but he couldn’t stop smiling. He had survived. He was about to start his second chance at life – that’s not something many people get to do.

They made their way to Richie’s car, stealing glances at each other as they walked. The whole scenario was unreal. Richie couldn’t help but feel a little selfish for being so happy about how things worked out. Eddie had finally realized that he wanted to leave his wife, and something inside of him hoped that Eddie would jut turn around and say he wanted to be with him. But that was wishful thinking. Right now, Eddie’s health was his priority. Making sure he healed properly, and he was safe. Nothing else mattered.

Once Richie had finished squeezing Eddie’s bags into the back of the car, he opened the passenger side door for Eddie, helping him sit down gently and get as comfortable as possible. He slipped into his seat, turning on the engine before realizing that they hadn’t talked about what they were doing.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Eddie spoke.

“So” he said, unsure of what to say. “What happens now?”

Richie looked at Eddie, thinking. He didn’t know what happened next, but he knew he wanted Eddie with him. Before he could convince himself otherwise, Richie turned to fully face Eddie.

“Come to L.A. with me. I know I sound crazy and I know that you’ve been through so much, but I honestly don’t know what I’d do if you didn’t come with me. And everything will be okay if we’ve got each other, right? We can figure it out. I just-

“Richie” Eddie interrupted him. He had a huge smile on his face, his eyes wide as they met Richie’s. “Just drive”

Richie smiled at Eddie, relief flooding through him. “Whatever you say Eds”

And this time, Eddie didn’t make a comment about Richie calling him ‘Eds’. He didn’t hit him in the arm or throw an insult. Instead, he placed a hand on Richie’s leg, squeezing as a sign of encouragement, and closed his eyes as he listened to the sound of Richie’s music blaring through the speakers. He felt relaxed for the first time after everything that had happened. This was where he belonged.

\--


End file.
